Kaye Stevens

Kaye Stevens
Kaye Stevens Bill Hayes Days of Our Lives 1974.
Stevens as Jeri Clayton with Bill Hayes in Days of Our Lives, 1974.
Born Catherine Louise Stephens
(1932-07-21)July 21, 1932
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died December 28, 2011(2011-12-28) (aged 79)
The Villages Hospital, The Villages, Florida, U.S.
Occupation Singer, actress
Years active 1962-1992
Spouse(s)
Tommy Amato
(m. 1955; div. 1961)
Woodrow Maxwell Melvin Jr.
(m. 1977; div. 1978)

Kaye Stevens (July 21, 1932 – December 28, 2011) was an American singer and actress. Her big break in show business came at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, when the headliner for the night, Debbie Reynolds, became ill and Stevens filled in for the night. She then went on to do small shows in New York City at the Plaza Hotel's Persian Room and the Waldorf Astoria, and Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.[1]

Early life

Born Catherine Louise Stephens[2] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 21, 1932, she was an only child. Her family eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she got her start as a drummer and singer as a teenager.[3][4]

Career

Acting

Stevens started out in film in The Interns (1962), where she played the character Didi Loomis, a nurse, and its 1964 sequel The New Interns. She also appeared in The Man From the Diners' Club (1963), which starred Danny Kaye. Stevens had a role in a television movie, Let's Switch! (1975) and in 1983 appeared in the film Jaws 3-D. She was strongly considered for the title role for the musical Funny Girl (Barbra Streisand) in the early 1960s.[5]

In her role on Days of Our Lives, Stevens introduced a new song, "You Light Up My Life" to the television audience. It was a huge success and soon after Kaye decided that she had to write new songs and create an album: "I knew then that if I got the kind of response from one song, I had to do an album of inspirational, motivational, spiritual-pop music."[6]

Stevens went on to appear on such television game shows as Match Game, Hollywood Squares, Celebrity Sweepstakes, The Price Is Right, and Password. She appeared as a guest star on many series, including CHiPs, Police Woman, and B.L. Stryker. Since 1994, Stevens was a regular on Hour of Power.

Singing

After her big break at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, she went from small audiences to sold-out audiences in New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles. From there she went on tour with The Rat Pack, Johnny Carson, and Bob Hope.

Personal life and death

Stevens married bandleader and trumpet player Tommy Amato. The couple performed throughout the eastern United States. Amato predeceased Stevens. Stevens married Woodrow Maxwell Melvin Jr. in 1977 and divorced him in 1978.[7] She had no children.

Stevens lived in Margate, Florida from the late 1950s until 2004.[8] She did public relations for Jack Marquesee, the city's developer. Many Margate residents referred to Stevens as the "First Lady of Margate" because every time she appeared on game shows, she would place a sign next to her nameplate that read "Hello Margate." She promoted Margate as "a great place to live and raise a family." Stevens served as grand marshal in many of the city's parades on July 4, and a city park is named in her honor. When Stevens was home in Margate for the Christmas holiday, she would gather her neighbors and friends and go to the Margate Hospital to sing Christmas carols to the patients.

In her last 20 years, Stevens did Christian ministry and only performed Christian or patriotic music.[9]

She lived in retirement in Summerfield, Florida.[8] Stevens died at 79 on December 28, 2011 after battling breast cancer and blood clots, according to Gerry Schweitzer, a close friend. She left no immediate survivors.[8]

Vietnam

Stevens went on a USO tour with Bob Hope in 1965. She went to Vietnam with Hope and a group of fellow entertainers to boost the morale of American soldiers.[8] She was quoted as saying "I came back in 1965 and my life was in shambles because of what I saw."

In 1985, she made a call to N-E-W-H-O-P-E, a telephone counseling service. She found a new faith in Jesus and started her own ministry. The Brewer Christian College and Graduate Schools (Florida) awarded her a Doctor of Humane Letters for her humanitarian efforts as well as her role in supporting the US soldiers in Vietnam.[10]

Honors, Awards, and nominations

Stevens received a Golden Globe nomination in 1964 for her work in the film The New Interns. It was announced that the city of Margate would erect a statue of her, spending as much as $35,000 to create a life-size bronze.[11] City officials named a park in her honor.[12]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
-Hollywood SquaresHerselfTV Game Show
-To Tell the TruthHerselfTV Game Show
-Celebrity SweepstakesHerselfTV Game Show
-$25,000 PyramidHerselfTV Game Show
-The Price Is RightHerselfTV Game Show
-PasswordHerselfTV Game Show
1964Toast of the TownSingerVariety Show, 5 Episodes
1962-1964The Ed Sullivan ShowSinger/ComedianVariety Show, 6 Episodes
1967The Dean Martin ShowSingerVariety Show, 2 Episodes
1967Everybody's TalkingHerselfTalk Show, 1 Episode
1967The Hollywood PalaceSingerVariety Show, 1 Episode
1968Family AffairJulie Madden1 Episode
1969Playboy After DarkSinger1 Episode
1969The Temptations ShowSingerVariety Show
1973The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonHerselfTalk Show, 4 Episodes
1974Match GameHerselfTV Game Show, 15 Episodes
1974TattletalesHerselfTV Game Show
1974-1979Days of Our LivesJeri ClaytonTV Soap Opera
1975Let's Switch! Flo Moore
1979CHiPsWoman in Phone booth3 Episodes
1979240-RobertValerie Barnes1 Episode
1983Jaws 3-DMrs. Kellender
1989B.L. Stryker1 Episode
1989Police WomanRoz1 Episode
1990SuperboyMother1 Episode
1992Miss America: Behind the Crown Monica

Recordings

Albums

  • "Ruckus at the Rivera" – Columbia Records
  • "Kay Stevens In Person at the Copa" – Liberty Records
  • "Not So Great Songs from Not So Great Movies" –Liberty Records
  • "Playgirls" –Liberty Records
  • "The Grass Will Sing For You" – Liberty Records
  • "The Temptation Shows guest starring Kaye Stevens" –Motown Records

Singles

  • "You Brought Me Back To Love Again" – Sun Records
  • "Someone Must Have Hurt You A Lot" – Capitol Records
  • "Friends are Friends Forever" – NLT Records
  • "I'm Going Back to Tennessee" – NLT Records

References

  1. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/464613/kaye-stevens-singer-actress-dies-at-79 retrieved 9/24/17
  2. ↑ Lentz, III 2012, pp. 331–332.
  3. ↑ LA Times staff (December 31, 2011). "Kaye Stevens, singer with Rat Pack who became an actress, dies at 79". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Tronc, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ USA Today staff (December 29, 2011). "Singer, actress Kaye Stevens dies in Florida". USA Today. McLean, Virginia: Gannett Company. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand,William Mann, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (October 9, 2012), ISBN 978-0547368924
  6. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/u-s-singer-actor-kaye-stevens-dies-1.1048841
  7. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0828529/bio retrieved 9/24/17
  8. 1 2 3 4 Jicha, Tom (December 29, 2011). "Singer/actress Kaye Stevens, who put Margate on map, dies". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Tronc, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  9. ↑ Associated Press (December 30, 2011). "U.S. singer, actor Kaye Stevens dies". CBC Television. Canada: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  10. ↑ http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2012/01/kaye-stevens.html retrieved 9/24/17
  11. ↑ Huriash, Lisa J. (March 17, 2015). "Margate to erect statue of '60s actress Kaye Stevens". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Tronc, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  12. ↑ Associated Press (December 30, 2011). "Kaye Stevens, Singer-Actress, Dies at 79". Billboard. United States: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved May 1, 2017.

Sources

  • Lentz, III, Harris M. (2012). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2011. New York City: McFarland & Company. pp. 331–332. ISBN 978-0786469949.
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